Tips for Conserving Water
Check for leaks.
Checking for leaks in taps, pipes and dishwasher hoses is an easy way to reduce water waste. Remember, one leaking tap can waste more than 500 gallons a month. An easy way to check if your toilet is slowly leaking is to add a few drops of food coloring to your toilet tank. Don’t flush the toilet for at least one hour. If coloring shows up in the toilet bowl after an hour, you’ve got a leak.
In the kitchen
For a normal sized family, 10 to 20 gallons of water a day can be saved by running the dishwasher only when it is full. If dishes are washed by hand, water can be saved by filling the sink or a dishpan with water rather than running the water continuously.
Thaw frozen foods before you need them or use the microwave instead of placing them under running water.
In the Bathroom:
Water can be saved in the bathroom by turning off the faucet while brushing teeth or shaving. Water can be saved by taking short showers rather than long showers or baths and turning the water off while soaping. This water savings can be increased even further by installing low-flow showerheads.
Conventional toilets use 3.5 to 5 gallons or more of water per flush, but low-flush toilets use only 1.6 gallons of water or less. Plastic containers (such as plastic milk jugs) can be filled with water or pebbles and placed in a toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used per flush by nearly l gallon.
Faucet aerators, which break the flowing water into fine droplets, are inexpensive devices that can be installed in bathroom and kitchen sinks to reduce water use by as much as 60 percent while still maintaining a strong flow.
In the Laundry:
Water can be saved by adjusting water levels in the washing machine to match the size of the load. If the washing machine does not have a variable load control, water can be saved by running the machine only when it is full.
Outside and in the Garden:
Watering the lawn early in the morning or late in the evening is more effective because there is less water lost to evaporation.
Setting the lawn mower a little higher will allow the grass to grow slightly taller will reduce water loss by providing more ground shade for the roots and by promoting water retention in the soil.
Get a new nozzle! As much as 150 gallons of water can be saved when washing a car by turning the hose off between rinses. Washing the car on the lawn reduces runoff.
Sweep sidewalks and driveways instead of hosing them off. Washing a sidewalk or driveway with a hose can use as much as 25 gallons of water every 5 minutes.
If a home has an outdoor pool, water can be saved by covering the pool when it is not in use.